Board of Directors

Barb Keith (Chair)

Barb has a Masters degree in social work and is a past President of the BC Association of Social Workers. She has over 20 years of experience in the addiction field, having worked in residential treatment, outpatient and support recovery in Prince George and Vancouver.

Joan Hill (Vice Chair)

Joan has been in a leadership role in the not-for profit sector for the past 18 years. She is a CPA, CA who works for the Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health. Prior to that she was the Director of Finance, Facilities and IT for Canuck Place Children’s Hospice and while there she won the 2015 BC CFO Award in the not-for-profit category. She has experience in quality improvement initiatives.

Judith Moore (Past Chair)

Judith is a retired Deputy Minister of Education (Yukon) and Social Services (Saskatchewan). She has served on numerous Boards, including the Saskatoon Centennial Auditorium and Convention Centre, the Canada-Saskatchewan Agri Food Fund and Ag Infrastructure Program, and the Regina Volunteer Centre (Chair). She is active in the volunteer community in the Comox Valley.

Tom Morton (Treasurer)

Tom joined the CMHA BC board in 2011. Tom is a CPA, CA with over 30 years experience as an accountant in public practice and has been a Tax Partner at Smythe LLP for over 15 years. Tom works with private and family-owned businesses in a variety of industries. His focuses is business succession planning as well as trust and estate planning. Tom also provides tax advice to charities, union and not- for-profit clients of Smythe LLP. Tom has been an author of two papers for the Canadian Tax Foundation and has written numerous articles and is a frequent speaker addressing current tax topics.

Fred Smith (Secretary)

Fred retired in 2018 from Great-West Life where he was the Vice-President National Accounts. He has been an active Steering Committee member of CMHA’s Bottom Line Conference providing valuable input and helped sign on several organizations as sponsors to our yearly Bottom Line Conference. As Vice-President National Accounts for Great-West Life, Fred was directly responsible for Group Benefit revenue and services for their largest clients, nationally. With 40 years of experience at Great-West Life along with his Master’s Degree in Business, Fred is well equipped to bring with him valuable skills and expertise in finance and governance to the CMHA BC Division Board.

Peter A. Csiszar (National Representative)

Peter is a founder and partner of Harris Workplace Law. He advises and represents employers on human rights matters, collective agreement interpretation, discipline and collective bargaining strategy. He has clients in numerous sectors, including health care, food, broadcasting and education. He has won several awards, including Best Lawyers in Canada for labour and employment law. Peter has been a guest lecturer at UBC on labour and employment topics and is a member of the Labour Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association, BC Branch.

Omar Alasaly

Omar is a Pharmacist-Owner of three Shoppers Drug Mart franchises. He has been recognized by his peers at Shoppers Drug Mart as being a pharmacy and business leader and he was elected as the BC Peers Chair for Shoppers Drug Mart where he serves as Chair of the Board for all elected Pharmacist-Owner Representatives in BC and also serves as one of seven Pharmacist-Owners on the National Pharmacist-Owner Board representing over 1,100 Shoppers Drug Mart Pharmacist-Owners in Canada. Omar was awarded the prestigious British Columbia Pharmacy Association (BCPhA) Pharmacy Leadership Award and has also been awarded several other national and regional pharmacy awards. As a pharmacy student at UBC, Omar’s internship focused on the treatment of mental health patients.

David DeLong

David is the Director, Human Resources, Base Metals at Teck Resources. Experienced in board governance, policy and strategic planning, he served on the Selkirk College Board of Governors for 6 years as Chair of the Advocacy Committee and Chair of the HR Committee. David has a Master of Science – Safety Management, BA, BPE, diploma in Strategic Human Resources Management and a certificate in Workplace Mental Health Law. With over 20 years of experience in managing employee assistance and health and wellness programs, David has a strong understanding of aboriginal affairs, addictions, corporate relationships, and mental health in the workplace.

Canon Fung

Canon is a business owner and senior finance executive with a CPA, CA and over 25 years of business experience in consulting firms, public and private companies, and non-profits. He is the President of Bella Turf and is currently a Board Director with the Canadian Liver Foundation, BC Division. Canon was formerly on the Board of Canadian Diabetes Association, BC Yukon Division as the VP Finance, a Finance Committee Member at Vancouver Lawn Tennis Club, and a mentor with the Sauder School of Business.

Alexa Geddes

Alexa Geddes has a Bachelor of Science in Biology and is completing her Doctor of Medicine at the University of British Columbia. She currently volunteers at the REACH Community Health Centre, and acts as a Research Assistant at the Centre for Applied Research in Mental Health and Addictions. Alexa’s past community involvement includes founding UBC Okanagan’s Peer Support Network as well as roles in research, fundraising, and leadership. She spent one year as an elected Senator with the UBC Okanagan Senate, and has previously served as Secretary and Director-at-Large for CMHA Kelowna.

Jacki McPherson

Jacki is from the Okanagan Nation. She has worked in Aboriginal health for approximately 30 years. Jacki currently manages all health programs for the Osoyoos Indian Band, and is part of the Okanagan National Wellness Committee. In her previous role as President of the First National health Directors Association of BC, Jacki was involved with the transfer of health services from Health Canada to the First Nations Health Authority. She has also worked closely with Interior Health Authority in all areas of health.

Jesse McDonald

Jesse McDonald is enrolled in the Rural Pre-Medicine Program at Selkirk College. She has spent a time in South Africa as a Project Assistant with the Sinovuyo Teen Project, which aims to develop an evidence-based parenting and teen program for HIV/AIDS-affected youth and their families. Jesse is a current member of the Healthy Minds | Healthy Campuses initiative, and is involved with facilitating campus discussions around mental health and substance use.